Europe
In many European countries, there are squatted houses used as residences and also larger squatted projects where people pursue social and cultural activities. Examples of the latter include an old leper hospital outside Barcelona called Can Masdeu and a former military barracks called Metelkova in Slovenia. Squats can be run on anarchist or communist principles, for example, Fabrika Yfanet, Villa Amalia in Greece, Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus in Austria (has legal status) or Blitz in Norway (has legal status). Young people squat buildings to use as concert venues for alternative types of music such as punk and hardcore. The eviction of one such place, Ungdomshuset, in March 2007 received international news coverage. Others have been legalised.
England has made squatting illegal on the 1st of September 2012 as BBC reports: "Squatting in a residential building in England and Wales will become a criminal offence on Saturday, meaning squatters could face jail or a fine. Ministers said it would offer better protection for homeowners and "slam shut the door on squatters once and for all". The maximum penalty will be six months in jail, a £5,000 fine, or both. But campaigners warned the new law could criminalise vulnerable people and lead to an increase in rough sleeping."
In Italy, there is Bussana Vecchia, a ghost town in Liguria which was abandoned in 1887 following an earthquake and subsequently squatted in the 1960s. In France, there is Collectif la vieille Valette, a self-supporting squat village which has been active since 1991.
Read more about this topic: Squatting
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